Page 40

CHAPTER 39

I HAD NO idea where I was. I just knew I had to keep going.

I’d run through a full tank of diesel and a can of reserve. Now I was completely out of gas. For the last two days, I’d been rowing the boat like a damn canoe. My muscles ached from fighting the wind and the current. My knees were scraped raw. I hadn’t seen land since I left Vail and the island behind. But I knew I couldn’t go back, only forward.

I was trying to head south. I figured I was out past the Bahamas. I knew Brazil was down there somewhere, but the boat had zero navigation gear. It was built for short hops. There wasn’t even a compass on board. I was stuck with reading the sky. The anchor line wasn’t long enough to reach bottom out here. So when I fell asleep, the boat just drifted aimlessly. I had to recalibrate my position and direction every morning, hoping I’d be sighted by a freighter or a cruise ship. This boat was not meant for the high seas.

I wiped the sweat out of my eyes. The sun was torture. The coral scrapes on my back burned like fire. Probably infected. I felt feverish and delirious. There was no shelter from the elements, and not a scrap of food on board. No fishing tackle, either. I’d checked every hatch and hideaway.

I’d found a few bottles of water, but I’d finished the last of it a day ago. I was probably losing at least a liter every hour in sweat. Not a good equation. If I didn’t get some nutrition and fluids soon, I’d die out here. I started to have wild thoughts—like whether the admin office at the university had reported me missing.

Not that it mattered. Nobody would be looking for me out here.

And I thought about Kira. I was praying she was still alive, somewhere. But I didn’t hold out much hope for that, either. Whoever slaughtered the boys probably killed her, too. For some reason, they only wanted one person left to take the fall.

Me.

I heard a thud from the back of the boat. I jerked my head around.

A large bird had just landed on the stern.

My muscles tensed and my brain went into overdrive. I blinked hard. It took a second to realize that I wasn’t hallucinating.

It looked like some kind of tern or gull, and it was about ten feet away from where I was kneeling. I slowly pulled my plastic paddle out of the water and got ready to swing it. I knew I’d only have one shot. The bird’s head was swiveling and ducking, like it was nervous about something. Maybe it knew what was coming.

I gripped the end of the paddle with both hands and turned slowly until I was facing backward. I raised the paddle like a baseball bat and tightened my grip. When I cocked my shoulders, my festering back felt like it was ripping open.

“Don’t move,” I whispered, my eyes locked on the bird. “Don’t you dare move…”

I lunged forward and swung the paddle as hard as I could.

Shit!

Missed by an inch.

The momentum threw me off balance. I landed hard on my side. Pain shot through my whole body. The bird fluttered its wings and pushed off the back of the boat. I made one last desperate grab, but I was way off. The damn thing was already in the air, mocking me.

I collapsed face-first on the deck. I didn’t have much left. Maybe nothing. My mouth was dry. My vision was blurred. I heard buzzing in my ears.

I turned my head to the side and pounded my head with my fist, trying to get rid of the sound. When I stopped, the buzzing was still there.

I pushed myself up from the deck. Agony.

The buzzing wasn’t in my head.

It was coming from a distance.

I turned around and crawled back to the cockpit. I peeked over the cowling. Two bright orange dots were heading straight for me. I pulled a small pair of binoculars from the console and looked out. Two inflatables. Two men each. Ragged and lean.

Goddamnit!

More pirates.